Cigarette case



Feb. 14, 1961 P. HONCHARENKO 2,971,675

CIGARETTE CASE Filed July 3, 1958 2 SheetsSheet 1 Fig. 4

Peter Honcharenko 1 N VE N TOR BY non Wavy 3m Feb. 14, 1961 P. HONCHARENKO CIGARETTE CASE Filed July 3, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.5

Fig.7

Fig.6

illlll Peter Honcharen/ro 1N VEN TOR. BY waafizn all C GAR ITE CASE Peter Honcharenlro, 4071 Glendale, Detroit 38,:Mich;

' Filed July 3, 1958, Ser. No. 746,505 3 Claims. or. 221-232 either hand touching the cigarettes and possibly contaminating the dispensed or ejected cigarette by handling the same. is especially advantageous to automobile drivers and persons engaged in unsanitary work and to workmen having one hand continually in use while workabove purposes which is easy to refill, without damaging the cigarettes and in which the ejecting means will not jam nor tearthe cigarette paper, and which is of simple, inexpensive and durable construction.

These together with other objects-and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details ofconstruction'and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like'v numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the case;

Figure 2 isan enlargediview in side elevation of a cigarette container forming P t of the case;

Figure, 3 is 'a view. in vertical longitudinal section of the a e;

Figure-,4 is a .viewwin vertical cross-section in of Figure 3; 1

figure ,5 is a viewin vertical cross-section taken on the line 5 ,5 of Figure, 3;. V V

Figure 6 is a view in vertical cross-section taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is anenlarged perspective view of ejector slide forming part of the ejecting means, and

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical longitudinal section of one corner portion of the case.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, the cigarette case, designated generally by the numeral 1, comprises, as its basic components, a flat, open top, rectangular cigarette container 3, and a flat, open bottom, rectangular cover 5 for the container 3 fitting with a slip fit downwardly over said container.

The container 3 comprises side walls 7 spaced apart to accommodate therebetween a single layer stack of cigarettes 9, front and rear end walls 11, 13 spaced apart a distance corresponding, approximately, to the length of the cigarettes 9, and a bottom wall 15 forming a trough 17 between the end walls 11, 13 for seating the cigarettes 9 successively of the stack in position for ejection successively forwardly out of the case 1, in a manner present- 1y clear.

The side walls 7, which are integral with the bottom wall 15, are provided with vertical central 'slots 21 through taken on the United 3 6 Patmtfi Another object is to provide a cigarette case for the 3 2,971,676 Patented Feb, 14, 1961 ice which thefingers of a hand may be inserted. in loading or filling the container 3 with a stack of cigarettes 9, and

thewfrontcend wall- 11, which is also integral with the bottom wall 15, is, provided with a bottom discharge opening 23 aligned with the trough 17 for, ejection of cigarettes out ofthe trough 17 forwardly of the container 3.

The rear end wall 13 of the container 3 is formed of front and rear sections 25, 27 spaced apart to provide a. vertical slot 29 in said rear end wall 13,0pen at the top a d bottom of the container 3,. the front section 25 beinglspaced above the trough 17 and the rear section 27 being removably secured to the side walls 7 for access .to. the slot 29, by crosspins 31, all for a purpose presently apparent.- v

The cover 5 comprises side walls 33 and front and .rear end walls 35, 37'and fits downwardlyrover the container 3 with. its bottom edge substantially flush with the bottom face of the bottom wall of the container 3. A cigarette discharge bottom opening 39 is provided in the front end wall 35 of the cover 5 to register with the opening 23, when the cover 5 is applied, for ejection of cigaretes outwardly of the case 5.

The ejecting means comprises the following: An elongated manually operative ejecting slide 41 is guidingly mounted on the underside of the bottom wall 15' for advance from a retracted position longitudinally of said wall 15 to engage an upstanding pusher finger 53 on said slidecwith the butt endlof a cigarette 9 in the trough- 17 to eject the cigarette. The slide 41 has a serrated bottom face 55 depending below the bottom wall 15 fornonslip engagement of the thumb of a hand 'withsaid slide to advance the same, and is guidingly mounted for advance. and retraction by means of longitudinal tongues; 57 thereon sliding in longitudinal grooves 59 in the bottom wall 15 which are open at the rear end wall 13 for insers tion of said slide 41 in place when the rear section 27 of the rear end wall 13 is removed. Retraction of the slide 41 is limited by said rear section 27. V p 7 The pusher finger 53 is advanced and retracted by the slide 41 in a longitudinal slot 61 in the bottom wall 15, through which it projects upwardly out of the trough 17,

and when retracted is disposed under the front section 25" of the'rear end wall 13. Advance of the pusher finger 53 and consequently of the. slide '11 is limited by'cngagement of said finger 53 with the front end of the slot 61. The pusher finger 53 is stepped, as at 63, to seat and support thereon the butt end of a cigarette 9 in the trough 17. r pi ng means is operatively connected tothe pusher finger 53th retract the same and the slide 41 and comprises the following: A helical spring 65 in the slot 29 of the rear end wall 13 depends from and is suitably connected at its upper end to a cross-pin 67 in said slot. A pull cord 69 is terminally connected to the lower end of the spring 65, as at 71, and to the pusher finger 53, as at 73, and is slidably trained under a cross-pin 75 in the lower end portion of said slot 29.

Follower means is provided for the stack of cigarettes 9 for urging the same successively into the trough 17. This means comprises an elastic band 77 looped through a transverse bottom groove 79 in the rear section 27 of the rear end wall 13 from which it extends forwardly at opposite sides of the bottom wall 15 in grooves 81 in said wall 15 and is trained under and upwardly around a transverse headed pin 83 in said wall 15 to extend upwardly in the slots 21 in straddling relation to the stack of cigarettes 9. Thecpin 83 is preferably formed of telescoped male and female sections 85, 87.

The sides of the bottom wall 15 are recessed, as at 89, with countersinks, as at 91, therein to accommodate the cover is then applied to the container 3.

v, V 3 sides of the elastic band 77 and the heads of thepin 83 all of which together with the grooves 79, 81 and the slots llprevent the elastic band 77 from projecting outwardly beyond the sides of the container 3 and thereby interfering with applying the cover 5; i a v p The' use and operation ofthe described invention will. be readily understood, Io "load or fill the case 1,1116: cover 5 is removed fromthe container. 3 after-starting; the sameby inserting a fingernail under the lower front;

5 rectangular receptacle having front and rear end and side walls respectively, and a bottom wall forming a bottom trough for containing the bottom one of a stack of cigarettes placed in the --receptacle, an open bottom rectangular cover slidably fitting downwardly over said corner 89a and in. a transverse front, bottom corner receptacle and having a frontwall, said frontwalls' having notch 93 in the bottom wall 15. After the cover 5 isre-. moved, the elastic band 77 is pulled 1 upwardly andj forwardly and looped into an upper corner, transverse; notch 97 in the front end wall not the container 3 so that said elastic band isinclined forwardly and upwardly out-of the slots 21, as shown in broken lines in Figure 2,

out of interfering position withfilling the container 3 by" fingers inserted downwardly through the slots 21. The cigarettes 9 are then stacked in the container 3 one on top of the other after which the elastic band 77 is released or pulled upwardly out of the notch 97 and then backwardly into straddling relation to the stack of cigarettes 9, as best shown in full lines in Figures 2 and 6. The

With the case 1 filled, as described, it may then be grasped between the index. and second fingersof a hand and with the thumb of the hand engaged beneath the serrated bottom face 55 of the ejecting slide 41said slide may then be advanced, in opposition to the spring 65, to?

advance the projector finger 53, as shown in broken lines in Figure 3, whereupon said finger will engage the butt end of the lowermost cigarette 9 of the stack, which is 'in the trough 17, and eject the cigarette partway out of the openings 23, 39, as shown in broken lines in Figure 2,

for insertion in the mouth of a smoker to be grasped by the lips to pull said cigarette completely out of the case 1. Thus, as will be seen, a cigarette may be'obtained from the case 1 for smoking by the smoker using one hand only to operate and manipulate the case 1 and'with- V the device will be readily understood and further explana- However, since tion is. believed to be unnecessary. numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and" accordingly all suitable modifications and'eq'uivalents may The elastic:

registering cigarette discharge openingstherein in line with said trough, said bottom wall having a longitudinal slot therein and said rear end wall having a longitudinal slot therein opening into said longitudinal slot in said 15 bottom wall, an ejector slide beneath said bottom wall mounted thereon for advance and retraction, a pusher fingeron said slide extending into said longitudinal slot "therein'for' advance byv said'slide against one en'dfo'f' a cigarette in said trough to eject said cigarette outwardly of said openings, spring means in the longitudinal "slot in the rear end wall extending'into the longitudinal slot in 'the bottom walljand connected to said slide to retract the same, and resilient follower meansffor a stack of. cigarettes extending from said rear end wall alongside said bottom wall and over 'a stack of cigarettes in the container. for urging saidstack toward said trough, said spring means comprising a helical spring terminally at-' tached in the longitudinal slot in said rear end wall,and

a pull cord terminally attached to said spring and extending into'the longitudinal slot in the bottom wall'and' attached to said slide, said rear end wall including an extern ;al removable section exposing whenremoved the slots insaid bottom and rear end wallsfor access to said spring and pull cord to renew the same.

.stack transversely of the sides of the cigarettes.

s. The combination of claim 2, the side walls of'saidi'i container having slots therein for accommodating said, band for looping over the stack and exposing to view the l cigarettes in the stack;

- References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS j 859,853 7 Stewart July 9, 1907 2,475,999 Sparagano July 12, 1949 2,513,672 Pino July .4, 1950 2,655,258. Weigler Oct. 13,1953 2,671,961 Nelson Mar. 16,1954

a FOREIGN PATENTS 2.- The combination ofclaim 1,. said resilient means comprising an elasticfrband rarranged to loop over said Carrothers Sept. 6, 189

Great Britain Bria 3 5 ,1932 i 

